Enjoy with me my journey through retirement while I dabble here and there with my love of textiles, family, environment, friends, and all the little extras that come along.

Please remember that any photos, images or text on this blogremain my property, but if you wish to use any that you see, feel free to contact me for permission. Thank you for respecting my request and enjoy your visit.......Joy

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Late this afternoon I finished off the 14 ATCs that I am taking to a retreat this weekend. I made them using the selvages which have been cut off from lots of material. If you want to know more about sewing with these little bits of scraps check the Selvage Blog in the right hand column. I love using them, you gets lots of interesting little bits, some with writing. With these ones I added some embellishments, beads, stitching and small tiles. Hope the girls I'm swapping with will like them. This pic is just a few - they are all much of a muchness with a little bit of variety.

Just received two phone calls - one from the tour company and one from a fellow Scquilter - Sue - she has decided to do this tour. Sue had been thinking about it for some time and saw my plea on the Scquilter's message board, rang the company and booked. Michelle from Travelrite confirmed Sue's booking - how lucky is that - not only am I now going but sharing with someone I know and get on well with!!! I think I will go and get myself a Tatts ticket (lotto for those who live o/seas.). Feeling very lucky today.

I haven't felt like sewing since I got the awful news, but now I am ready to get back to the little ATCs I am making to take with me this weekend. I'm off on a little retreat for 3 days with a group of lovely ladies from the Willows Quilting Group - we go every year to the same place in Bacchus Marsh (which is about a 2hr drive from here) and sew, talk, sew, laugh, sew, eat what someone else has prepared and sew. Usually about 25 or so go, but am told this year there is a few more (like 40 of us!!!). Hopefully they will allow me take some photos and put up on the blog (I might sneek some in...).

Monday, July 27, 2009

As mentioned in an earlier post I have been very excited about booking a tour to the US in October and visiting the Quilt Festival in Houston. Well today I had a call from the tour company to say that the girl I had been paired with to share rooms has pulled out. Ok, you say no problems you didn't know her, it doesn't impact on you going... Well it does - because the accommodation is twin-share I may have to pay the single supplement ($A2,800). that puts a real damper on my going - it is more money than I had planned to use for spending and makes the trip way out of what I can afford.

SO - if anyone is reading this and has been thinking of doing this trip, please please please give it a lot of thought and join me. I can assure you I'm not an 'axe murderer' - I am a nice person, generally happy (except for right now!!).

My only hope is if someone else pulls out - then I can share with the other 'odd' person or if someone joins us and they can share with me!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

My Monday night sewing group are having a simple challenge. We were all given 1 mt of fabric to use as much or as little as we like, but we have to use it in a quilt suitable for donating to our local hospital. This is something we do on a regular basis - sometimes it may be Quilts of Love for the very tiny prem babies, or Christmas quilts for the kids, etc. My piece of material was a bright blue and I thought this would look good using some of my strings that I have an abundance of.

Having decided on the size of the blocks (finished 12 in) I then chose to do a pattern that looks like flying geese.

I then made 4 string blocks (finished 6 in) and then sewed them to the blue squares creating two sets of triangles.

The finished blocks were then sewn together. All that is left now is to put on a border, quilt then bind off.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Is this the greatest birthday? Every day for a week now ATCs and Postcards have been arriving in my mail box. The one on the far right is an ATC from Sheila (from Scotland) and the one on the left is her Postcard.

(Sorry about the photo, not sure how this happened, it's lost part of the lower section - as you can see I'm still learning. Will put up a better one if I can fix it.)

We just happened to have joined two different

two swaps from two different groups -

both international!

A small world after all

(not sure who said that, but a good quote....)

The other postcard is from Lorna (UK).

These photos don't do the work on these cards justice, they are just beautiful and the colours divine. Even though I love colour I find it a little bit 'out of my comfort zone' so I usually stick to my favourites.

In a short while I will start posting pics of the cards I'm making (and have made) for these swaps.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Earlier this year I signed up for the newsletter from Two Creative Studios. A great site for some free information sheets on everything from mixed media to dyeing to 'where ever your creative hands want to take you'. You can access more information here and see what they have to offer. I also did an on-line course run by Terri and although I haven't finished everything I learnt heaps. Hope any of you reading this will pop over and have a look.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

In October this year I am winging myself across that big blue pond between us and the USA for 3 weeks travelling around a small part of the country, but mainly to visit the Houston Quilt Festival. Last night I downloaded the full catalogue - wow 83 pages - can you believe that! With over 365 hands-on classes and numerous workshops listed for the six days of the festival! Comparing to our shows here - it's mind boggling and I don't think I can actually envisage it yet. Going to take me awhile to get my head around the size of it all.There is also over 20 (note 20) different exhibitions.I have decided not to do any classes - just couldn't find anything - now I can see you thinking - what with that many she must be very very fussy - I'm not believe me - just too much to take in. What I'm going to do is take my time and make sure I don't miss a thing. I'm also hoping that I may be able to attend some of the 'on the floor demonstrations and workshops' that you don't book into. These are in the form of each teacher/artist talks for about 15 mins and has some of their work on display. But I also think that by the time I go up and down all the aisles my brain might be just a tad overloaded!There is one thing I noticed when reading the catalogue for the upteenth time - they have an actual Festival Quilting Bee - organised by one of the local guilds. This is a definite on my list.Stay tuned for more updates - will post titbits as I find out more.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Today the postie had to bring my mail to the front door. I am in an international birthday ATC swap and also a swap with Scquilters (an online Australian quilting group) and he had too many envelopes to put in my mailbox. I haven't opened them yet as I promised my granddaughter Jorja who is nearly 3 that when she comes to visit she can help me open them. She loves looking through the folders I have of ATCs and Postcards that I have swapped over the past couple of years. Last time she was down here (they live the other side of Melbourne about 130kms from me) she helped me make a couple by sprinkling on some glitter. Mind you there was more glitter on the floor than the cards! I will put up some photos of the albums when the weather is better - at the moment it is very cold and wet here and my camera doesn't take a good photo inside. (Actually I have hinted to my 3 boys that a new one would be very good!!!)

About Me

I now live in a lovely little town at the base of the You Yangs - a small group of rocky hills about an hours drive from Melbourne. I will miss my walks on beach, but now enjoy a walk around the lakes and listening to the birds. This area is a sanctuary for native bird life, and most importantly I can still enjoy my latte and a good book.